Prius for my wife - Any quick suggestions?

If the backup camera is on the priority list, then you would need at least a Prius III/3 from 2010-2014.

 

The average life of a Prius, if maintained properly, should be 200,000 or more. Seeing your wife only drives 12 miles or so a day, that will be 20 years before putting another 100,000 miles on the car. So it should be good.

 

Such low usage might not properly keep the 12v battery charged.
You will also be paying a big premium for a hybrid considering it's low usage.
So, are you out to save the world or to save money?

 

maybe test drive a corolla, yaris, camry?

 

Obligatory joke....

Prius for your wife? MAKE THE TRADE!



Okay, seriously.

If you don't care about the options you get with the Prius Three (mostly the Nav/Entune system and solar roof OPTION being available), you can install a backup camera easily on a Prius Two. I did it and posted a DIY thread on it. About $200 and a few hours of work on a Saturday.

 

Edmunds 5 year True Cost to Own® assuming 15k miles/year, then with fuel cost adjusted to 4k miles/year (Edmunds figures for my work zip code):

	Model	TCO@15k	Fuel portion	TCO@4k
1	2013 Prius III	31094	4475	27812
2	2013 Camry L auto	32847	7996	26984
3	2013 Yaris Hatch 4dr auto	31040	6996	25910
4	2013 Corolla L auto	31153	7221	25858

(I've only adjusted the fuel part of TCO, I didn't attempt to also adjust for mileage-related maintenance, insurance premiums, etc.)

Do you think a Prius is $900 nicer than a Camry, or $1900 nicer than a Corolla or Yaris? Can you sit in the others with the engine off and the heat or AC keeping you comfortable? Will they be as long-term reliable?

If you like the car, the choice doesn't have to be all between "saving the world" or saving money....

-Chap

 

Those are two interesting 'must haves.'

OK....first thing's first.
You need to find out if you're in a CARB state. If you are, then hybrid components are covered for an additional period beyond the OEM warranty. Your government at work.
If NOLA means New Orleans, LA then I'll save you some research time, you're not even close to being in a CARB state.

The Prius is a darn good car (as you already know) but the person who is going to be using the car also has to think that it's a good car as well or you'll be doing this all again sooner than you have to.

Consider bolting on an aftermarket Bluetooth and Backup Camera.
How to Install Bluetooth Audio in Your Car
Even if you spend $500 for premium solutions in this area, you might save money in the long run because let's face it.......the OEM radio is garbage, and you may spend $1,000 or more getting an up-optioned Prius with just a few hundred dollars worth of mostly outdated electronics.

Lastly....if you get cars often consider another one.
There really is a hybrid premium, and if you're going to be trading cars out every 3-4 years then you're going to be helping to crowd-fund somebody else's Prius.
OTOH....Priuses are real-world dependable out to about 200,000+ miles....PROVIDED that you mind the filters and fluids.

Everybody's "nightmare scenario" is the traction battery going out.
They're cheaper than an A/C compressor, and in many cases they last just as long.
Yes.....if the A/C goes out you can still drive the car......but are you going to???

If my budget was 14,000 I'd spend 13,500 looking for a clean used G3 base model, and DIY the camera/BT.


Good Luck!

 

Shot in the dark here, but why not consider a used Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt instead? If your wife isn't going to be driving much or far, you can probably pick up a good one for $10-15k. The Gen 2 Volt is coming out in the fall, so prices for the Gen 1 may drop even further if you can wait a few more months. Unless your electricity rates are really high, the EV's will probably cheaper to run, and less maintenance required on them.

If you or your wife insist on a prius though, you can't go wrong with one, so long as it wasn't in a major accident. But if it's a newer model year one, expect to pay a little bit more unless it has really high mileage. Which as others here have posted, isn't really a big deal for the prius.

 

Jokes aside, if you can pick up a recent Prius USED, it might be the best option. I don't know if she/you would get your money's worth from a NEW Prius as little as she will use it. Also, while the Prius' ICE doesn't run all the time, SOME highway use from time to time is important because it makes the ICE run all the time. Constant stop-and-go in town will not do well for the ICE over the long term.

 

It certainly looks nice.

Do your own VIN check. InstaVIN is cheaper than CarFax and gives the same information. Inquire about if there are two key fobs (photos only show one). Ask why such high mileage on a fairly new car (what was it used for)? Not a deal breaker, but do a check on KBB.com to see what a similarly-equipped car is worth.

You don't post your location, so I don't know how far away it is from you.

Dealer is in Houston, TX. KBB indicates a price range of $14,124 to $17,795. That's with the mileage factored in.

 

Neither TX nor LA are CARB states so your Hybrid warranty is 100,000 miles/8 years.

I bought my both my Prius to drive, so I have little experience with not driving one. So long as you drive it every week the 12 volt battery should not go dead. (my Prius will have that many miles before it is 3 years old)

The solar roof will not hurt in the South, but humidity will still make it feel hot if left in the sun.

I wonder how long it was stolen, days would not worry me, months would.

 

I wouldn't worry at all about problems with the ICE. Stop & go in-town usage is one area in which the Prius seems to be particularly good. If this wasn't so, they would not generally perform so very well as city taxis or have such stellar reliability ratings with Consumer Reports.

Frequent stopping and starting is hard on conventional cars but the Prius is intended to do this, and the engine appears to be specifically set up for it.

 

A Corolla could be a better choice but so could a Prius, depending upon your circumstances.

A Corolla has a lower initial cost and if, for example, I had credit card debt, I would probably go with the solution that enabled me to pay off the credit card debt asap. This would likely be the car with lower initial cost.

If on the other hand I had the cash available or could finance at low interest rate, I would look at which met my anticipated needs better, which was most adaptable to changing needs, the relative long term owning costs, and which met my wants better.

When we bought in 2009, we concluded that while the Corolla of the time was decent reliable basic transportation, it was not remotely equivalent to the Prius in in meeting our needs in meeting our wants or in adaptability to changing needs. We also concluded that even though we did not anticipate high milage, the long term cost Prius would likely be less.

Most people consider initial cost and gas cost savings when comparing the relative cost of a Prius vs a conventional car but this is by no means the whole story. Depreciation p.a., maintenance costs and the cost or value of the money tied up all play a part but for us, perhaps the most significant factor making the Prius cost effective despite relatively low miles pa, was that we believed that we were far more likely to keep the Prius long term and thus avoid the high costs (and hassle) of changing cars.